Combination soap holder and brush



Se t. 25, 1962 c. E. SCHERMERHORN 3,055,040

COMBINATION SOAP HOLDER AND BRUSH Filed Jan. 29, 1960 s Sheets-Sheet 1FIG. 2

CLARENCE E. SCHERMERHORN ATTORNEY Sept. 25, 1962 c. E. SCHERMERHORN3,055,040

COMBINATION SOAP HOLDER AND BRUSH Filed Jan- 29, 1960 3 Sheets-Sheet 2mmvron. CLARENCE E.

YSCHERMERHORN L may ATTORNEY P 1962 c. E- SCHERMERHORN 3,055,040

COMBINATION SOAP HOLDER AND BRUSH 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed Jan. 29, 1960CLARENCE E. SCHERMERHORN ATTORNEY iifi ifl ih Patented Sept. 25, iasz3,055,04t9 CGMBHJA'HUN SOAP HQLDER AND BRIEi-I Clarence E.Scherrnerhorn, Lincoln Hotel, Apt. 310, La Porte, Ind. Filed Jan. 29,196%, Ser. No. 5,457 4 Claims. (Cl. 15-525) The present inventionrelates to a general purpose utility cleaning device and moreparticularly to a combination soap holder and brush.

One of the principal objects of the present invention is to provide amassage and body cleaning device which is adapted to hold soap either inthe form of a single cake or in relatively small pieces and which feedssoapy water into an area having means for cleansing and massaging thebody.

Another object of the invention is to provide a combination soap holderand brush. for bath and general cleaning purposes, which contains a soapchamber through which water circulates and discharges into the scrubbingmeans of the brush and which can be used with or without a handle.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a soap holder andbrush combination device having an expandable and contracta'ble soapholding chamber and adapted to receive a handle which can be readilyattached to and removed from the device and through which water underpressure can be supplied to the chamber around the soap therein fordischarge into the scrubbing area of the brush.

A further object is to provide a device of the aforesaid type which willfloat regardless of the kind or type of soap placed in the holdingchamber and which can be readily and thoroughly cleansed both in thesoap chamber and between and around the bristles or scrubbing means ofthe device.

Another object of the invention is to provide a cleansing and massagingdevice having flexible skin contact means which project substantiallystraight outwardly from the body of the device and which are providedwith special tips adapted to turn and bend approximately parallel withthe surface being cleansed to present numerous small, smooth projectionsfor effective cleansing and massaging action.

Another object of the invention is to provide a versatile, combinationsoap holder and cleansing device which can be readily produced onconventional or standard equiprent and which is safe, economical andeasy to use.

Additional objects and advantages of the invention will become apparentfrom the following description and accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIGURE 1 is aside elevational view of the present combination soapholder and brush, shown with the detachable handle;

FIGURE 2 is a top plan view of the soap holder and brush device shown inFIGURE 1, without the detachable handle;

FIGURE 3 is a vertical cross ectional view of the soap holder and brushshown in the preceding figures taken on line 3-3 of FIGURE 2;

FIGURE 4 is a vertical cross sectional view of the soap holder and brushdevice shown in the preceding figures taken on line 4-d of FIGURE 2;

FIGURE 5 is a bottom view of the present device;

FIGURE 6 is a top plan view of the present soap holder and brush deviceshown with the detachable handle mounted in place ready for use;

FIGURE 7 is a vertical cross sectional view of the handle, taken on line'77 of FIGURE 6;

FIGURE 8 is a plan view of the handle removed from the soap holder andbrush portion of the present device; and

FIGURE 9 is a transverse cross sectional view of the handle, taken online 9-9 of FIGURE 8.

Referring more specifically to the drawings, numeral 10 designatesgenerally the body portion of the present soap holder and brushcombination device and numeral 12 indicates the handle of the brush, thebody 10 being shown in FIGURES 2 through 5 without the handle and inFIGURES l and 6 with the handle inserted therein in operating position.The body 10 can be used more satisfactorily in some applications withoutthe handle and in others with the handle, and the handle can be readilyattached to the body and removed therefrom to adapt the present deviceto various uses requiring direct application of the hand to the body, or-a handle for more effective manipulation of the device.

The body portion It is preferably constructed of rubber or otherflexible or resilient material and consists of a base 14 ofsubstantially rectangular shape having upwardly extending side walls 16and 18 and end walls 23 and 22 joined integrally therewith at theperiphery, and supporting on the lower side a plurality of spacedfrustoconically shaped projections 24 covering substantially the entirelower surface of the base 14-. A cover 26, which is preferablysufficiently resilient to be readily stretchable, is joined integrallywith the upper edges of the side walls 16 and 18 and is preferablyslightly dome shaped to conform generally to the normal shape of a barof soap. The end walls 26 and 22 are not as high as the side Walls andare spaced from the ends of cover 26 in order to provide openings 3% and32 at the ends of the body for inserting soap and/ or the handle of thedevice. These openings preferably extend throughout most of the lengthof the two ends and can be readily expanded by stretching the coveradjacent the opening to permit a relatively large bar of soap to beinserted in chamber 36. After the bar of soap has been placed in chamber36 the cover returns to its normal position and restricts the opening sothat the bar will remain in the chamber until it is intentionallyremoved.

The bottom side or brush portion of body 10 is shown in FIGURE 5, whichshows the distribution of projections 24 throughout substantially theentire surface of base 14 with the exception of one or more holes 40connecting chamber 36 with the bottom side of the base to permit soapywater to flow from the chamber onto the surface engaged by theprojections. While only one relatively large such hole 40 is shown, two,three or more holes may be employed if desired and these holes may varyin size from one device to another and/ or vary in size from one hole toanother on any particular device.

One of the important features of the present device is the shape andconstruction of projections 24, which preferably are all the same sizeand shape on any one device and are formed integrally with base 14.These projections are resilient and flexible and have a large portion 42of frustoconical shape joined directly .at its large end to theunderside of base 14 and terminating at the lower end in a small,cylindrically shaped stem 44 formed integrally with the conically shapedportion. The stem is highly flexible and readily turns to one side,often substantially paralleling the surface being scrubbed or massagedby the device, when the device is in use. The individual deflected stemspresent a smooth surface to the area being subjected to the action ofthe device and these stems twist and turn from one direction to anotheras the device is moved to and fro over the area being cleansed and/ ormassaged. This action produces effective cleansing action by dislodgingforeign matter from creases and pores of the skin and gently works thesuperi cial layers of the flesh of a persons body to stimulate thecirculation of blood in the area.

When the present combination soap holder and brush is being used forsome purposes, for example as a bath brush, it is advantageous to have ahandle attached to the device. The detachable handle 12 forming a partof the present device, shown in detail in 'FIGURES 6 through 9, consistsof a relatively broad portion sufliciently long to project outwardlythrough both openings 30 and 32 and slightly wider and thicker than thelength and height respectively of the two openings so that the portionsof the end walls and 22 and adjacent portions of cover 26 will grip theportion 50 of the handle in the two openings and hold the handle firmlyin place in the body of the device. A water passage 52 extends inwardlyfrom one end of portion 50 and opens at one side of portion 59 throughholes 53. A stem 54 is connected to the end of portion 59 around passage52 and contains a passage 56 for supplying water from a hose connection(not shown) to passage 52 and thence through holes 53 into chamber 36.The portion 50 and stem 54 are preferably formed integrally with oneanother of rigid or semi-rigid plastic material of well knowncompositon; however, the two parts of the handle may be formed ofdifierent materials such as wood, metal or relatively stiff rubber, andportion 50 and stem 54 may be formed separately of the same or dilferentmaterials and joined together by any suitable means and construction.

In using the present soap holder and brush device in the condition shownin FIGURES 2 through 5, a bar or pieces of soap are placed in chamber 36and the device is grasped by the hand with the fingers on one side andthe thumb on the other. As the device is used in water for scrubbing andcleansing or when the device is dipped into and removed from water forscrubbing, water flows into chamber 36 through openings 30 and 32 andhole as the device is moved back and forth during the scrubbingoperation. An inherent pumping action is created by the flexible cover26 and resilient side walls 16 and 18 which supplies soapy water throughhole 40 into the area of the brush performing the scrubbing action. Whenthe device is removed from the water for scrubbing, the soapy Water inchamber 36 drains for a period of time thereafter to provide a sustainedsupply of water for the cleaning operation.

When it is advantageous to use the handle, portion 5% is insertedthrough openings 39 and 32 with the ends projecting outwardly fromopposite ends of the device. The handle may be used with or without awater connection and with or without soap in the chamber 36. When stem54 is connected to a supply of water such as a lavatory spigot, waterflows through passes 56 and 52 and from holes 53 into chamber 36 andthence through hole 40 into the area around the projections 24 and ontothe surface being cleansed. If soap has been placed in chamber 36beneath handle 12, the water circulates around the soap as it passesfrom holes 53 to hole 40 and creates a soapy solution before reachingthe area around the projections. In using the present device solely as amassaging implement, the handle would normally be removed and chamber 36would not contain any soap, since the projections are usually used dryor with a lotion applied directly to the area being massaged.

While only one embodiment of the combination soap holder and brush hasbeen described in detail herein, various changes and modifications maybe made without departing from the scope of the invention.

I claim:

1. A combination soap holder and brush, comprising an elongated bodyportion of generally rectangular shape and of rubber material having asubstantially flat bottom with a hole therethrough near the centerthereof and side and end walls forming a chamber for receiving soap, aflexible stretchable cover for said chamber joined to said sides andbeing spaced from said end walls to form opposed openings in the end ofthe body at the top of the end Walls, a plurality of downwardlyextending projections on the lower side of said bottom, each projectionhaving a frustoconically shaped portion joined integrally at its largeend to the underside of said bottom and a relatively slender stem-likeportion joined to the small end of said first portion, and a detachablehandle having a relatively broad flat portion extending through theopening at each end of said body and a stem connected to one end of saidbroad portion, said stem and broad portion having a passage thereinconnected with the chamber in said body on the underside of said broadportion for supplying water to said chamber and thence through the holein said bottom the height of said end walls beneath said openings beingsufiicient to permit the handle to be inserted in said opening while abar of soap is contained in said chamber and to permit water to flowaround the soap to said hole.

2. A combination soap holder and brush, comprising a body portion ofrubber material having a substantially flat bottom with a holetherethrough and side and end walls forming a chamber for receivingsoap, a flexible stretchable cover for said chamber joined to said sidesand being spaced from said end wall to form opposed openings in the endof the body at the top of the end walls, a plurality of downwardlyextending projections joined to the lower side of said bottom, eachprojection having a frustoconically shaped portion joined integrally atits large end to the underside of said bottom and a relatively slenderstem-like portion joined to the small end of said first portion, and ahandle having a relatively broad portion extending through the openingat each end of said body and projecting outwardly from both ends of thebody, said broad portion being gripped firmly by said flexible cover forremovably attaching the handle to the body, and a stem connected to oneend of said broad portion, said stem and broad portion having a passagetherein connected with the chamber in said body for supplying water tosaid chamber and thence through the hole in said bottom, the height ofsaid end walls beneath said openings being sutficient to permit thehandle to be inserted in said opening while a bar of soap is containedin said chamber and to permit water to flow around the soap to saidhole.

3. A cleansing and massaging device, comprising a body portion of rubberhaving a substantially fiat bottom with a hole therethrough and side andend walls forming a chamber for receiving soap, a flexible stretchablecover for said chamber joined to said sides and being spaced from saidend walls to form opening in the end of the body at the top of the endwalls, a plurality of downwardly extending projections joined to andformed integrally with the lower side of said bottom, and a detachablehandle having a relatively broad portion extending through the openingat each end of said body and a stem connected to one end of said broadportion, said stem and broad portion having a passage therein connectedwith the chamber in said body for supplying water to said chamber andthence through the hole in said bottom, the height of said end wallsbeneath said openings being sufficient to permit the handle to beinserted in said opening while a bar of soap is contained in saidchamber and to permit water to flow around the soap to said hole.

4. A cleansing and massaging device, comprising a body portion having abottom with a hole therethrough and side and end walls forming a chamberfor receiving soap, a flexible stretchable cover for said chamber joinedto said sides and being spaced from said end walls to form openings inthe ends of the body at the top of the end walls, a plurality ofdownwardly extending projections joined to the lower side of saidbottom, a handle having a relatively broad portion extending through theopening at each end of said body and being gripped firmly by saidflexible cover for removably attaching the handle to the body, and astem connected to one end of said broad portion, the height of said endwalls beneath said openings being suflicient to permit the handle aroundthe soap to said hole.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTSMulherin Nov. 1, 1921 6 Crary Sept. 22, 1925 Trumbull Apr. 13, 1926Meltzer Dec. 27, 1932 Garland Dec.12, 1933 Hernpel Dec. 29, 1936Orndorif Mar. 21, 1950 Matthay Feb. 2, 1960

